Sunday, April 29, 2012

A FOND FAREWELL TO STRAWBERRY SEASON!!!

Parting is such sweet sorrow! As the heat and the bugs creep in, the berries are giving us a final adeau. There will be one more Saturday of picking, but it will be call ahead for an appointment. We will schedule a limited amount of pickers, depending upon the amount of strawberries that will be available . It was a good season, thank you to all that came and supported our efforts. We are already making plans for next year. The blackberries are just around the corner. Picking season will probably start in about 2 weeks. Daily monitoring of the berries will give us a better idea when they will be ready. We did lose a few plants due to the drought, but we are grateful for all of those that are loaded with soon to mature fruit. Details on the U-pick blackberry season will follow. Due to some incidents during the strawberry picking season we are going to change a few of our guidelines. We did get the tractor and the toilet fixed. Had to order the irrigation valves that were smashed, should be here this week. Our dear neighbor across the road was a little startled when he looked out his kitchen window to a bevy of picnicers, complete with blankets, in his back yard, not sure what to do about that one!  When I walk through the tomatoes, it is like hitting the motherlode. Green tomatoes are everywhere. One week of the CSA may be a half bushel of tomatoes! I am holding my breath, waiting for the first ones to ripen.  A couple of the early peach trees have blushing fruit. I have this niggeling thought that "what if everything has came an went by June!"...........when the rest of the world is just putting in their gardens. What in the world will we do for the rest of the season! We may have to muster up the energy to plant a mid season garden before the fall/winter garden. The farmer is going to take a trip to the processor in the next couple of weeks, so there will be plenty of ground beef. Randy the beeman helped us do inventory on our hives, and we were able to split some before they vacated the premises. The girls were busy making honey, so hopefully we will have another good honey harvest this year. We are down to our last smidge from last year, so we may be rationing a bit, until the honey flows again. Most of our produce will be going to our CSA members, as they have made a comittment to us to take whatever we produce each week. There will be a limited amount in the market on the weekends.   From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

Friday, April 27, 2012

SNEAKY SUMMER!!!

Cucumbers and Squash in April? This has been a zany spring! The blackeyed peas are already up and going. Unheard of! The 90 degree weather has fooled the crops into thinking it is summer, so they are rushing to bear . The Farmer has been cutting and hauling hay to prepare for the winter. Rest assured we will not have to plunk down our hard earned money on outragously priced hay, if there is a drought again this summer.We have been blessed this spring, with neighbors who just want their pastures mowed, and will give us the hay if we haul it off. With all of the good rain and sunshine, lots of premium grass. Lulu was giving a tail swish and a nod, everytime the hay trailer passed with a load of neatly rolled bundles. The end of strawberry season is in sight as the heat takes it toll on the plants. We will probably be picking for a couple more weeks, but only on Fridays, and Saturdays. Open picking will start at 9:00 AM both days, until pickout, which usually takes a couple of hours. We only pick in the mornings when it is cool, as the berries tend to soften in the heat. Ours are on black plastic mulch, which absorbs the heat ( a blessing in the middle of January) so they tend to mush a little if you pick them when they are warm. The baby chics are here and doing well. Took a gamble with dollar a chic straight run. Hopefully we don't have a brooder full of roosters.  The blackberries should be ripening the middle of May. They will be sold by the gallon bucket again this year $15. Finally we are starting to harvest a little produce for the market. The bulk of our crops will be going to the CSA, but we will have an assortment in the market on Saturday. This week we will be concentrating on watering and bugs. One good point of a hard, harsh winter is that it eases the bug problem a bit. Using all natural methods of control is a challenge and is constant when they are so plentiful. I do not think that ladybugs and Tricci wasps stand a fighting chance this year! MARKET HOURS: Friday and Saturday from noon until 4:00PM. Call ahead if a dairy pickup is needed during the week. From our farmstead to your table thank you for all of your support!!!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

FARM UPDATES!!!

April is nearing the end, the strawberries have hit their peak....but are still producing. The blackberries are loaded, should be ready mid May. The late Spring produce is nearly ready, and we are itching to start harvesting. Those that have joined the CSA will get information this week on their delivery and pickup dates. The strawberry harvest has been our best so far, thanks to all of our visitors that have come and picked and supported our efforts to provide home grown organic berries. We will certainly plant again for next year. By the way, as a curious observer, as children came and went, visiting the farm, I have a suggestion to all parents for an inexpensive, time consuming, very entertaining, "toy" for your little ones....... invest $5.00 in a bucket of pea gravel. I had no idea children would be so enthralled by it. And it is so versatile.... you can lick it, you can throw it, you can mound it, you can kick it, you can make pictures in it. Children never seem to tire of it. I just might call TOYS R US and drop a hint! All of the crops are planted, that need to be planted at this time. Something dug up some of the watermelon seeds and ate them, so that will be this weeks project. The Farmer is cutting hay this week, and LuLu is rejoicing, knowing she won't starve this winter.  If you noticed the tomato plants in the greenhouse, I agree that they look a little intimidating. They are about as tall as I am! I can't wait to see what they will produce.  Call ahead picking for strawberries: Monday through Friday, from 10 to noon. Next Saturday will be open picking from 9:00 AM until pickout, which is usually around 11:30AM. MARKET HOURS: Friday and Saturday from Noon until 4:00PM. HINT: If you come at 3:45 PM and expect to find anything, chances are you will be out of luck! From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

TOMATOES UPSTAGING THE STRAWBERRIES!!!

In the three years we have been doing crops, we have had the darndest time with Spring tomatoes. If it wasn't a late freeze, it was hurricane force winds, early grasshoppers, or early blight.... then late blight. I even think they shriveled if you cussed in their presense. This year, there is hope! The Farmer and his son have finally grown some plants that look like good prospects for Spring tomatoes. Now, if we get an earth quake that swallows them up, we may just give up until Fall. The plants are setting fruit, so we may have some tomatoes in early May. The strawberries are still going strong. Had a great crowd of pickers on Saturday, thank you so much!  Strawberry picking will continue through this week, with call ahead picking Monday thru Friday, after 10:00 AM, and open picking on Saturday at 9:00 AM until 11:30 AM. The cool weather and cloudy days have encouraged more blooms. There may be strawberries lingering until blackberry season, which will start Mid May. The melons were planted this week, as well as some more black eyed peas. It is time to plant the next round of lettuce and swiss chard, hopefully we will beat the hot weather. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

WHEW, WE MADE IT THROUGH!!!

Berry picking weekend ended with most everything in tact! Including me! Lots of visitors, no major mishaps, and other than an odd request or two from patrons ( yes the strawberries are cheaper at WalMart and no we do not give a discount if you buy more than one pound, and the reason the berries are not very sweet, is because you picked the pink ones after being instructed to pick the darker, ruby red ones).Thank you to all who came, for a great start to our U-pick strawberry season. The strawberries should be available throughout the month of April, so if you missed this week, be sure to come at another time. Monday through Friday there will be call ahead picking. Just let us know when you would like to come. 10:00 AM will be the start time. Next Saturday will be open picking again, starting at 9:00 AM until pickout, which usually  is around 11:30 AM. UPCOMING EVENTS: The CSA is anticipated to begin the last week of April for those participating. A newsletter will be sent for more information.  The blackberries will be ready for U-Pick mid May. Next weekend will be the start of some Spring produce in the market. The baby chicks will be here in a couple of weeks, answering the demand for more eggs! Oh, and more meat will be in the freezer, by the end of April, ( we kind of whisper that around here, as we do not want to upset those who are not involved.....namely LuLu). A special thank you at this time to my Father In Heaven for giving his son for redemption from our sins. I promise that I will try to make his burden as light as I can, by following his teachings and trying to live a life revering Him and his Word. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

Friday, April 6, 2012

RISE AND SHINE FOR STAWBERRY PICKING!!!

Yes, there are still berries available for picking Saturday morning, after the flurry of pickers on Friday. Picking will start promptly at 9:00 AM and we will pick until pickout which will probably take a couple of hours. All pickers please check the past blog post for guidlines for picking so that there are no misunderstandings if we ask you to leave if your children are picking berries and throwing them on the ground or at each other. We have had a good picking week, and there are many more berries to come. Next week we will have call ahead picking Monday - Friday,  and open picking on Saturday starting at 9:00 AM. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

MAKING SURE GOOD FRIDAY...IS GOOD!!!

Our preview weekend was just a taste of what is to come, as you can see there are lots of berries getting ready for this weekend. We want to make your visit a safe and enjoyable experience, so we are making sure that our guidlines are clear for everyone.We are a working farm, we will not be giving farm tours at this time, but will invite everyone to our fall festival which will include tours of our goings on. *Dress for picking, closed shoes, hats, jackets etc. * Picking baskets and take home containers will be provided. *Please respect our farm and crops. For some reason children have the urge to throw things at each other, in our case it happens to be strawberries. We really frown on this.* What you pick you keep. Berries will not ripen any more after picked, so pick those that are a deep red all the way around. * Samples will be provided that have been washed. We use poop and pepper tea, ivory soap, etc on our crops. The sand blows constantly, and nestles in the berries, so unless you want a mouthful of sweet juicy strawberries covered with a little "ick", rinse them before tasting.* Berries are picked by the whole stem, hooking two fingers behind the berry, and gently tugging off the stem.* Children are welcome if they are well behaved and supervised by an adult. * All under age six must have their own adult with them. It has been our experience that it is very diffucult to pick berries, and keep a constant eye on several youngsters at one time. *Pets are not allowed on the farm. If you bring them, they will need to be kept in your vehicle, then someone will probably turn you in to the ASPCA.* The plastic mulch beds where the berries live are very fragile, if they tear, it wreaks havoc on the berries, and it is a bugger to repair them, so we request no tromping on the berry beds. That just about sums it up! There will be a lot of visitors this weekend as it is a holiday. As you can see there are a lot of berries, but they will probably go quickly.Wednesday, Thursday there will be call ahead picking, starting at 10:00 AM throughout the day.  We will start open picking for  on Friday at 9:00 AM until pickout, which will probably take about 2-3 hours. At which time we will close the picking, to reopen again on Saturday at 9:00 AM and will pick until pickout. Picked berries will be available. Our MARKET HOURS: Friday and Saturday from noon until 4:00 pm. From our farmstead to your table, thank you for all of your support!!